Say It With Chocolate Frogs
by CinderellaAtTheBall
Summary: What happens when Sirius discovers Remus' hobby? He uses it to his advantage, of course.


**Say It With Chocolate...Frogs**

Remus enjoyed collecting the trading cards from Chocolate Frog packs. It was a little secret of his, really. He wasn't even sure why he liked it so much; perhaps because it gave him something to focus on outside of schoolwork, Prefect duties, and his friends' hijinks. Sometimes he would just sit on his bed and sort through them, finding the simple act of sifting through the pentagonal cards relaxing.

By his fifth year, Remus had doubles and triples of many of the cards, although he still lacked some of the rarer ones. He thought his friends might be onto his collecting habits by this time, too. Sirius and James had noticed him going through his cards on several occasions, and he thought Sirius might have discovered the handwritten list of cards he still needed, despite its secure location in his locked bedside drawer. This was all but confirmed when his two nosiest friends suddenly began buying him large amounts of Chocolate Frogs.

"Oi, Moony," Sirius called up the stairs of the boys dormitory one Saturday evening. Remus warily stuck his head out of the fifth year dorm.

"Come up here, please, Sirius, I'm in no state to yell." This was true; the full moon was fast approaching and he was not feeling at all well.

Sirius bounded up the stairs, his arms full of the telltale Chocolate Frog packaging.

"It's a shame you missed Hogsmeade, mate, it was a real treat. But look, James and I brought these back for you!"

"Thanks," Remus said, leaning over to pick one of them off the floor. "It was nice of you to think of me."

"Don't be silly. We missed you, old pal," Sirius said, smiling at him fondly. Remus felt himself grow warm.

"Er, right. Thanks again." He quickly ran a hand through his hair, hoping Sirius hadn't noticed his blush.

"Anything for you, Moony," Sirius said, winking at him. Remus' face grew even more red, and he hastily went to put the chocolate away before Sirius could make a comment.

...

Two weeks later, Remus was recuperating from his monthly transformation when James burst into their dorm carrying a bag of something.

"How are ya, Remus?"

Remus felt his friend could do with ratcheting his voice down several notches, as it felt like a herd of hippogriffs was stampeding through his head, but he didn't say that aloud. Instead, he politely told James that he was feeling a little tired but was otherwise fine.

"Great," James grinned, patting him on the shoulder with so much force that he winced.

"What's in the bag?" he asked, craning his neck to try and get a better look.

"Oh, that," James said. It was evident to Remus that he was merely pretending to act casual. "Just a little something for you."

"Little?" Remus chuckled. James dumped the bag upside-down at the end of the bed with a great flourish. Remus' mouth fell open.

"James! That's got to be, what, fifty Chocolate Frogs?"

"Sixty, actually," was James's cheeky reply.

Remus swatted him. "Are you and Sirius on some sort of mission to make me fat?"

His friend snickered. "No, we just thought these might cheer you up."

"Yes, the sight of a mountain of candy has really done a number on me," Remus said dryly. "Miraculous, really."

"Well, you have to eat them first, you prat," James returned.

Remus laughed. "Want one?"

...

"Delivery here for a Mr. Remus John Lupin," Sirius said dramatically, holding something behind his back. A few more weeks had passed and Remus' friends had made another trip to Hogsmeade without him.

Remus rolled his eyes. "I hope you didn't bring me _more_ Chocolate Frogs."

Sirius' features took on a wounded expression as he brought forth the Honeydukes bag he had been hiding. "Would that really be so bad?"

"Why are you doing this, Sirius?" Remus sighed. "At first it was funny and maybe a little endearing, but now I'm worried that you're secretly planning something."

"Nope, not planning anything," Sirius said cheerfully. When Remus narrowed his eyes at him, he added, "C'mon, Remus, must you be so suspicious all the time? I just wanted to do something nice for you."

"It feels a bit like I'm being wooed or something," Remus muttered, face flushing at the thought. Sirius, thankfully, didn't seem to hear this.

...

Thanks to the three batches of sweets, Remus now had more Chocolate Frog cards than ever before, but he was still hunting for plenty of the rarer ones. Without any hope of eating them all by himself, and glad to have something tasty to share, Remus had taken to offering the Frogs to his friends whenever he could. He had noticed that they always made sure to leave the card for him, though, and he was grateful for that.

"Say, Moony," Sirius said lightly, a few days after the last delivery of chocolate, "have you got a Cornelius Agrippa card yet?"

He and Remus were the only ones in their dorm; James was putting in extra Quidditch practice and Peter was at the library trying to find a book that would help him pass his Charms O.W.L. Remus had been reading up on some Transfiguration notes while Sirius pigged out on chocolate. Remus had offered to test the other boy on the material he was reviewing, but Sirius had merely shrugged at him and said he wasn't interested.

Remus put down his notes and looked over at Sirius, trying to ignore the way his body reacted to his friend licking the chocolate off his fingers. "No, why do you ask?"

"I've got one here, it was in that pack I just ate."

"Likely story, Pads," Remus said, shaking his head.

"I'm not joking." Sirius pouted, and Remus found it distinctly unfair that he could look so roguishly adorable. Sirius held up the card, and Remus could just make out the purple book and quill he knew Agrippa held. He gasped.

"Yes, that's it!" He stretched his hand out, thinking Sirius would reach over and hand the card to him across the gap between their beds. But Sirius, it seemed, had a different idea. Instead of passing the precious object to Remus, he clutched it tightly in his hand and smirked.

"Sirius, be careful," Remus admonished. "I've been looking for that for ages! It's really rare!"

"I am being careful," Sirius shot back.

"Could I please see it, then? I'd like to add it to my collection." Remus held his hand out again, but again Sirius refused to give it to him.

"Ah, so you admit it?" Sirius said, his smirk widening.

"I-admit what?"

"That I have something you want."

Remus was not about to admit that he wanted more than just the item in question from Sirius, so he instead leapt from his bed and lunged at his friend. The other boy was too quick for him, however, and Remus got the wind knocked out of him by an ill-placed fall onto Sirius' knee.

"Please, Sirius," he said, breathless. "You have no idea how long I've been looking for that." He made another feeble grab for the card.

"Oooh, that's right, Moony, beg for it," Sirius teased. Remus, suddenly realizing they were in a bit of a compromising position, scrambled off of his friend. His face was burning.

"I'm _not_ begging-come on, Sirius, this isn't funny!" he shouted, and then, to his horror, he burst into frustrated tears. He threw himself onto his bed so that his back was to Sirius, and took several big, shaky breaths.

Sirius was quiet for a moment, and Remus feared he had gone to tell James or Peter about making Remus cry. But then he spoke, and his voice was more gentle than Remus had ever heard it.

"I'm sorry, Remus." Remus felt the mattress dip a little as Sirius sat down beside his trembling form. "That wasn't fair of me."

"No, it wasn't," Remus sniffed. "It was m-mean."

He felt his friend's hand fall on his shoulder and he stiffened, torn between running away and letting Sirius continue to comfort him.

"I'm sorry," Sirius repeated. "I swear it was all meant in good fun. The last thing I wanted to do was upset you." The mattress shifted a little more, and Remus felt Sirius' warm, lean body press against him.

"What are you-"

He panicked and tried to get up, but Sirius held on to his arm and he flopped onto his back.

"Sirius, let me go."

"Hear me out, Remus, please."

"No." He tried to pull his arm free, steadfastly avoiding the other boy's gaze.

Sirius sighed. "I don't want to hold you hostage. I just...I need you to hear me out."

"No! This is another one of your stupid pranks, and I won't let you play me for a fool!" Hot, angry tears began to pour down his face. He did nothing to stop them this time.

"It isn't," Sirius said earnestly. "Remus, look at me...I swear it isn't."

Remus' instincts told him that Sirius was not messing around this time, and he reluctantly turned his head to meet his friend's gaze. The intensity with which Sirius was staring at him made him go red again, and when Sirius carefully wiped his tears away, he thought he might have lost the ability to speak.

"Well?" Remus whispered at last, his heart pounding. "I'm listening."

Sirius took a deep breath. "I like you, Remus. When I figured out you were collecting these cards - you might want to secure your bedside table a little better, by the way - I thought I would try and help you out, and maybe...I don't know, show you that I could be thoughtful and not just an arrogant prat. Besides," he added with a sudden grin, "it was an _excellent_ way to spend some of my stupid inheritance. My parents will be _furious_."

Remus blinked at him but didn't say anything. He wasn't sure how to respond. Never in his wildest dreams had he expected Sirius to return his feelings, and now that he knew the other boy did, he felt paralyzed by anxiety

Sirius seemed to sense his discomfort. "You know what? Forget I said anything. How 'bout I just...go?"

"No," Remus rasped.

"I'll go," Sirius said more decisively, rolling over and pulling himself off the bed.

"No," Remus choked out. "You can't just-you can't just admit that you like me and _leave_!"

"Yes, I can!" Sirius yelled, his dark eyes wild. "You clearly want nothing to do with me, and who would blame you, my family and all their Pureblood mania-"

Remus jumped to his feet, too. "I didn't say that!"

"That's right, you didn't say _anything_," Sirius shot back. "What's a bloke supposed to make of that?"

Remus crossed his arms. "You can't blame me for being a bit tongue-tied around you!"

"I-did you just say I make you tongue-tied?"

Remus nodded shyly. "It's a wonder I can even think straight around you sometimes," he confessed.

"Ah, now _there's_ the reaction I was hoping for," Sirius winked.

Remus rolled his eyes. "Hard to believe there's an insecure version of you hiding away in there somewhere."

"There is not," Sirius said indignantly.

"I won't tell anyone...if you kiss me," Remus said, surprising himself with his cheekiness.

Sirius laughed. "I think I can do that."

Remus was nervous at first, but as soon as he stepped into Sirius' arms, he felt his worries drift away. Sirius' kisses were just like him; a little rough, but with a kind of sweetness that wasn't immediately apparent. Remus sighed blissfully, completely forgetting about the card that had started it all until he looked over and saw it on Sirius' bed.

"Hang on a sec," he said, pulling away. "I want to put Agrippa away, keep him safe."

Sirius looked vaguely offended. "I can't believe you stopped snogging me for _that_."

"Oh, please," Remus chuckled, placing the offending item with the rest of his collection, "I think you'll survive."

"Only if I get to snog you again."

Remus smiled. "Fine."

* * *

Word count: 2,019

_A/N: Things may have gotten a little dramatic in the middle there, but it all turned out right in the end. (I don't condone holding your crush down to admit your feelings, though.) Still, writing teenage Wolfstar is hard. My next go round will likely have them as adults. :P_


End file.
